Class Action Abuse and the Movies
By Melancton Smith • Tuesday March 6, 2012 5:48 AM PDT • 7 Comments
I got a chuckle out of the latest class action foolishness to come from the American bar. The Manchester Guardian has this report on the great wrong done to Joshua Thompson and the millions of movie-goers he represents. How has he been wronged?
Thompson says he paid $8 for a Coke and a packet of Goobers chocolate-covered peanuts at the Livonia AMC cinema on Boxing Day last year, nearly three times the $2.73 he would have been charged for the same snacks at a nearby fast-food restaurant and drug store.
Rather than simply eating before he goes to the movies or waiting for the picture to come out on DVD, Thompson has resorted to the courts. If movie fans want to put the hurt on the theaters, all they have to do is to stop visiting the concession stands. Theaters make 40 percent of their profits off concessions. The theater will have no choice but to lower prices or close their doors if consumers refuse to pay $8 for Coke and Goobers.
Class actions, while in some cases are great tools to enforce the laws, have become much abused. I can’t tell you how many times I have been sitting around with friends in the plaintiffs’ bar and have heard them plan regular meetings to come up with new class action targets to make some easy money. Class actions are now not so much used to right great wrongs where the individual claims are small, but to enrich the very few who earn legal fees off the work. Thompson’s suit is but the latest example.
That’s why I bring my own goodies to the movies.
In the old days, when I was young and carefree, we’d bring in 3 or 4 beers each and enhance the movie experience.
Paul | Mar 6, 2012 | Reply
Bring your own food in, no one will question what you have in your backpack or purse, no need to sue the theaters, this is America, they can charge what they want for snacks, and you have the choice to buy it or not... If I was the judge I’d fine that guy for wasting tax payers money on such a dumb issue.
Giovanni | Mar 6, 2012 | Reply
I agree totally. There should be some criteria before a lawsuit can be filed rather than clog the courts with frivolous law suits which do nothing but provide work – and money – for attorneys with nothing better to do and overextended credit card bills to pay.
al bacon | Mar 6, 2012 | Reply
Is there any hope for a class action suit against the Republican National Committee, or against the states where election fraud has been committed, reported, and ignored? We, the voters, have had our most basic right stripped away and are being given no recourse. I realize a suit wouldn’t change the outcome of this year’s race, because these things crawl like snails, but the GOP and the state committee members involved should not be allowed to get away with the obvious fraud they’ve committed.
Mary Gentles | Mar 6, 2012 | Reply
Yes, if only people would stop blowing all their money on the overpriced concessions, then the prices could fall and I could afford a soda to drink with my movie. Why people complain and then spend their whole paycheck anyways is beyond me.
Brandon Gale | Mar 6, 2012 | Reply
In 1965, $1.75 would buy a gallon of gas, two malts, two hotdogs, and two tickets to a movie...sometimes a double feature. Once a year my college town theater had 17 Roadrunners for a quarter. So much for the Fed!
Ken | Mar 6, 2012 | Reply
Maybe movie theaters should require everyone to sign a contract agreeing not to sue or be denied entrance. I cannot believe how people want to deny choice to others, because of “gauging the consumer”. I will charge what the market will bear, and if my customers don’t like it then they can (and will!!) go without the benefit of the product or service I provide. When the law starts dictating what prices I can and can’t charge, then I’ll close shop and nobody at any price will enjoy my products or services!
phil mccanless | Mar 7, 2012 | Reply